memeorandum: ALGAE ALIMONY — Obama donors stand to profit from president's … (Andrew Stiles/Washington Free Beacon)

10:10 AM ET, March 21, 2012

Top Items:

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:

CBS News early Illinois exit polls: 4 in 10 Romney, Santorum voters “have reservations” — (CBS News) More than four in ten of the people who voted for Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum in Tuesday's GOP primary in Illinois “have reservations” about their choice, according to early CBS News exit polls.

Discussion: USA Today, CANNONFIRE, Taylor Marsh, Firedoglake, Guardian, Indecision Forever, The Other McCain, The Reaction, CNN, FiveThirtyEight and Politico

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Illinois primary results: Mitt Romney crushes Rick Santorum — Mitt Romney crushed Rick Santorum in the Illinois primary Tuesday night, padding his delegate lead and once again forcing his Republican opponents to find another moment to mount a guerrilla challenge to his campaign.

Discussion: The Caucus, CNN, Connecting.the.Dots, Scared Monkeys, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Chicago Tribune

Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:
Finally, Romney gets tea party support

Discussion: The Hill, GOP 12, Ballot Box, ABCNEWS and The Lonely Conservative

Kasie Hunt / Associated Press:
Romney pushes GOP presidential race toward a close

Discussion: JustOneMinute and CNN

New York Times:
Romney Wins by Wide Margin in Illinois Contest

Discussion: Media Decoder, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Campaign 2012, The Caucus, Reuters, msnbc.com, Politico, The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Truthdig, News Desk, The Moderate Voice and Newsy

Robin Bravender / Politico:
Rick Santorum in the black

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Timothy Stenovec / The Huffington Post:
Illinois Primary 2012 Results MAP (REAL-TIME DATA)

Discussion: CBS Chicago, Campaign 2012, NO QUARTER and Los Angeles Times

Jonathan Tilove / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Survey: Rick Santorum has sizable lead over Mitt Romney heading into Saturday's La. primary

Discussion: Guardian, Los Angeles Times, GOP 12 and Balloon Juice

Sam Baker / The Hill:

Supreme Court faces an unprecedented healthcare frenzy — The frenzy generated by the Supreme Court's arguments on the healthcare reform law next week is likely to dwarf anything the court has ever seen. — Lawmakers and interest groups plan to stage protests and events outside the court nearly nonstop …

Discussion: Reuters

BuzzFeed:

Story About White House Scrubbing Obama Daughter Travel Story Has Now Been Scrubbed — Citing security concerns, Politico removes a detail about Malia Obama's trip to Mexico. Point taken. — The White House's campaign to scrub a story from the internet yesterday about Malia Obama's trip …

Discussion: Media Decoder, The Caucus and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

Obama will avoid healthcare defense during court review — President Obama will not mark the two-year anniversary of his signing of the healthcare law — which takes place days before the Supreme Court offers a decision on the constitutionality of his signature legislative achievement.

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation

Jonathon M. Seidl / TheBlaze.com:
RICK SANTORUM REACTS TO OBAMA ALLOWING DAUGHTER TO VACATION IN MEXICO: ‘SET AN EXAMPLE’

Discussion: JustOneMinute, 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, americanthinker.com, BuzzFeed, ABCNEWS, Mediaite, Little Green Footballs, Indecision Forever, GOP 12, Wonkette, Guardian and Wizbang

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Feelin' Blue — Looking back at the day's news, I must admit I'm having trouble maintaining my customary good cheer. — Watching Mitt Romney's victory speech in Illinois didn't reassure me about his chances against President Obama. (Watch it yourself to see if I'm being unfair.)

Discussion: GOP 12, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Pundit & Pundette

Jennifer Yingling / The Hill:
‘We have the votes’ to pass this budget in House, says the GOP's Paul Ryan

Discussion: americanthinker.com, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Politico, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Booman Tribune

The 1600 Report:
Source: Obama to fast track southern portion of Keystone XL Pipeline

Discussion: Questions and Observations, Hot Air, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, InsideClimate News, ThinkProgress and Fuel

Washington Post:
Paul Ryan's budget is bad politics. Just ask Republicans.

Discussion: Paul Krugman, American Spectator, The Political Carnival, National Review, Daily Kos, The Hill, Hot Air, New York Times, DownWithTyranny!, Boston Globe, The Spectacle Blog, Newsy, msnbc.com and Fox News

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:
The Budget Wars: Why Obama and the GOP Are Light-Years Apart

Discussion: his vorpal sword, American Prospect, Campaign 2012 and Budget Committee

Jeff Glor / CBS News:

Calls grow to arrest gunman in Fla. teen slaying — (CBS News) SANFORD, Fla. - Pressure is building for authorities in Florida to arrest George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last month. — The incident is now a federal case, and it's slated to go before a grand jury.

Discussion: Boston Herald and The Reaction

Emily Bazelon / Slate:
Why Trayvon Martin's Killer Remains Free

Discussion: New York Times, Addicting Info, Poynter, The Atlantic Online, The Raw Story, Change of Subject, The Lede, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The American Conservative

BBC:

Raid on Toulouse shooting suspect — French police surrounded Mohammed Merah in Toulouse — Mohammed Merah, the man believed to be the gunman on a scooter who killed seven people in south-western France, is a 23-year-old French citizen of Algerian extraction.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Guardian, Harry's Place, The Daily Caller and Atlas Shrugs

Scott Sayare / New York Times:

French Police Raid Toulouse House — TOULOUSE, France — Hundreds of police officers surrounded a small apartment building in Toulouse early on Wednesday and were negotiating with a 24-year-old man suspected in the methodical killings of seven people, including three young children, in the past ten days, French officials said.

Discussion: Hit & Run, americanthinker.com, PRI, msnbc.com and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Betsy Rothstein / FishbowlDC:

David Corn Has Showdown in Barnes & Noble — MSNBC Contributor and Mother Jones' Washington Bureau Chief David Corn apparently got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. — He was spotted in the Barnes & Noble at Union Station throwing a fit because his new book — his fifth …

Discussion: Betsy's Page, Instapundit and small dead animals

Don Surber:
Daily scoreboard — Final score: GOOD 8, EVIL 7. — 1. From the Associated Press:

Discussion: The Other McCain

Mj Lee / Politico:

Ron Paul: Secret Service is welfare — Ron Paul said Tuesday he doesn't want any Secret Service protection because it's “a form a welfare.” — “It's a form of welfare,” the presidential candidate told comedian Jay Leno Tuesday. “You know, you're having the taxpayers pay to take care …

Discussion: News Desk, Joe. My. God., Jezebel and ABCNEWS

Ben Geman / The Hill:

GOP lawmaker entertains Obama ‘birther’ notions — Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), a top member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on Tuesday said he's not yet convinced that President Obama's birth certificate is legitimate. — “I am, shall we say, looking at all the evidence,” …

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, Roll Call, Taylor Marsh, The Political Carnival, ThinkProgress, ABCNEWS, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, CNN and The Raw Story

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Top Romney Adviser Says Romney Can Change His Positions After The Primaries: 'It's Almost Like An Etch A Sketch' — Mitt Romney can't be held accountable for his extreme right-wing views, at least according to his campaign's senior adviser, who said the candidate should be given a …

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

‘Nice Guys’ Finish Last — Romney's condescending approach may be the best way to beat Obama. — One advantage an incumbent president has when seeking re-election is that he has already persuaded many voters to cast a ballot for him. That means a challenger—or the incumbent himself …

Discussion: Althouse, National Review, The Daily Caller, Rush Limbaugh, Townhall.com and Hot Air

Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:

Family Leader heads lobbying for same-sex marriage ban — Hundreds of conservative Christians crowded the Iowa Capitol this morning in favor of advancing a proposed state constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage. — The rally and lobbying effort, organized by the conservative advocacy group …

Discussion: LGBTQ Nation, Joe. My. God., rightwingwatch.org and NOM Blog

FRANCE 24:

Cameron ‘tucked in bed’ by Obama during US trip — AFP - British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday revealed he was “tucked up in bed” by US President Barack Obama during the pair's recent trip on Air Force One. — The two leaders were repeatedly seen back-slapping …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and ABCNEWS

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

Romney econ adviser posts deport-seniors joke on blog — Greg Mankiw, the Harvard professor who serves as one of Mitt Romney's top economic advisers, has managed to take a shot at two key constituencies - Hispanics and seniors - in a single linked post on his popular economics blog.

Discussion: Greg Mankiw's Blog, The Political Carnival and 24Ahead

Mitch Mitchell / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Davis: ‘Homemade explosive device’ sparked fire outside Fort Worth office — A “homemade explosive device” was used to spark a small fire outside the Fort Worth office of state Sen. Wendy Davis, the senator said in a late-night news conference Tuesday. — Davis, D-Fort Worth …

Discussion: The Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Off the Kuff